28 February 2017
If a soldier is faced with an order they think is unjust, what should they do? Is it weakness to tell someone if you have been psychologically affected by combat? Is it okay to humiliate someone under your command if it helps motivate everyone else?
If a soldier is faced with an order they think is unjust, what should they do? Is it weakness to tell someone if you have been psychologically affected by combat? Is it okay to humiliate someone under your command if it helps motivate everyone else?
Asking such questions is one way to prompt informal discussion and debate around ethical challenges services personnel face. Military Ethics Education Playing Cards have been developed by leading researchers at the King’s Centre for Military Ethics (KCME) in consultation with ethicists and lawyers and with the support of King’s Undergraduate Research Fellows.
Their aim is to develop and promote ethical best practice in education and application across global defence and security forces. Each card is linked by a QR code to an online resource with more information, answers, and further questions relating to each topic.
As the military environment grows ever more complex and the weapons systems available to services personnel become more lethal, Defence Studies staff say the skills and education available to personnel must develop accordingly. The cards allow services personnel to fine tune ethical evaluations and judgements that they often face in extreme situations.
The King’s Centre for Military Ethics is the first centre in the world to try and conduct a comprehensive study into the ethics education for armed forces.
Find out more at http://militaryethics.uk/en/